Agent Pace
'''Agent Pace' was a female agent who succeeded Agent Skinner as liaison for the Machines. Agent Pace was designed with this purpose in mind and, as such, spoke with as much emotion as she did on purpose. To enhance Pace's communication skills, she was programmed to utilize Italian in order to further humanize her, often referring to redpills as "tesoro." Pace was believed by the Machines to be the first step towards better redpill relations. Appearance RSI Agent Pace is one of the few female Agents; only Agents from the first Matrix are known to have a female RSI. Following common Agent fashion, Pace's default attire is a slight variation on the male standard that accommodates her gender: a dark green business dress; a white button-up blouse underneath a dark green business blazer and mini-skirt over black stockings with black high heels. Accessories include a gold necklace, a white dove brooch, cell framed glasses (originally clear lenses but after her restoration the lenses became dark) and an ear piece like all Agents. Her hair is tied back into a bun with a large fringe sweeping to the left. When in planned combat situations she dons a pair of black leather gloves and wields an automatic pistol. Agent Pace once appeared in a white lab coat covering her normal Agent attire during the Halborn crisis; it's presumed that Pace's wardrobe was her own choice, rather than the dictates of her programming. Biography Following the deletion of Agent Skinner at the hands of the Assassin, a new liaison program was created to replace Skinner as liaison between the Machines and their Redpill operatives. Pace was involved in temporarily uniting Machinist operatives with the Zion and Merovingian factions to stop the Complete Corrupted, implementing trades between Machinist and Zion operatives for weaponry against the Assassin, research into Operation Omega, and the final alliance against the Assassin. Pace was among other Agents who were involved in finding the location of a captured program named Bugsweep and personally arrived to control DifferenceEngine when he malfunctioned due to the Smith Virus; assigning Turring as liaison to replace DifferenceEngine. Pace was often involved in field operations. She provided assistance to Machine operatives against Mammon, diplomatically handled the impasse of shared mainframe access between Machine and Zion systems, and was tasked with forging the Machines' alliance with the Cypherites through a meeting with their de-facto leader at the time, Veil. Pace was frequently a part of operations and campaigns to improve relations with Zion in the interest of peace. This is perhaps best expressed by a televised hug Pace gave Zion operative Ghost, acting as a symbol of strong Zion-Machine relations. It was during the crisis against the General that Pace was lured into a trap by the Merovingian and subjected to a kill program created to be used against the Oracle. Although she survived the ordeal and returned to service as a liaison, her empathy programming was notably altered. As retaliation for assisting the General in escaping the Matrix, Pace led an initiative to plant a trap for him. The trap having failed, Pace would later lead an assault against the General's forces at the trap's location. With the end of the Truce, Pace took up general Agent duties as well; locating and fighting Zion operatives who entered the Matrix as well as observing and maintaining Bluepills. As a liaison for the Machines, Pace became involved in handling the Intruder, eventually arranging talks between Halborn and Machine representatives and later opening talks with Carlyne, another Intruder. Agent Pace was also seen handling more mundane system administration tasks, such as handling bluepill crowd control and taking care of business issues with corporation alliances. Pace was the first Agent to encounter the Oligarchs Helian and Tesarova; an encounter she was ordered to withdraw from. Her presence in Oligarch situations continued from then on, both on the field and via briefings. Personality Traits and Temperament Designed to be the first 'redpill friendly' Agent for Truce conditions, Pace was programmed to feel and understand human emotion while still carrying the calculating, businesslike persona of an Agent of the System. However, after suffering an attack from the Merovingian, her empathy changed and she took on a colder, machine-like stance more associated with her kin. She is considerably more patient and understanding of human operative behaviors and, before the attack, was more than happy to provide a supportive role for her operatives. After the attack, she expressed chaffing in her supporting role and became more involved in front-line work. A notable trait is her tendency to use Italian words and phrases while speaking. Pace had an Italian accent, as well, in stark contrast to the rigid American accent of fellow Agents. This use of language and accent was designed to humanize her and make her more appealing to redpill operatives. She has alluded to some interest in the Zion operative Ghost. Whether this was just mild fascination or an actual attraction is unclear. Abilities Pace had the extraordinary powers of all Agents, including superhuman strength, agility, leaping ability, and skill at martial arts. She also possessed the high speed dodging and avatar shifting commonly seen among Agents of the System. Like all Agents in the Matrix she is programmed to keep order within the System. In Pace's case she is also programmed to act as a liaison for the Machine faction and worked in conjunction with Agent Gray to lead other Agent programs and Machine faction affiliates in system admin duties. Behind the Scenes The look and manner of Pace reflects Ameri-western pop culture and the opinion of the modern business woman. One influence appears to be the popular image of federal law enforcement agents as ruthlessly efficient and precise automata. Pace is designed as a female, more relation friendly Agent in contrast to Agents from the movie trilogy. The move to create a powerful, yet sympathetic and alluring female Agent character may have been done in order to draw more players to the Machine faction of the game by giving it more of a human factor. Her name derives from the latin word pace, which means "peace". Appearances *''The Matrix Online'' Pace Category:Machinists Category:Liaisons Category:Characters in MxO